Homestand vital for Mavericks’ playoff hopes

Clippers at Mavericks

7:30 p.m. Thursday, American Airlines Center, Dallas

TV: FSSW

Radio: ESPN/103.3 FM, Univision/1270 AM (Spanish)

Records: Clippers 43-29; Mavericks 30-40

About the Clippers: Los Angeles is riding a three-game winning streak and has won those games by an average of 21 points. ... The Clippers defeated Cleveland (108-78) on Saturday, New York (114-105) on Monday and the Los Angeles Lakers (133-109) on Tuesday. ... Blake Griffin averages 21.3 points and 8.4 rebounds per game and is shooting 39.2 percent from 3-point range in his past 19 games. ... Point guard Chris Paul averages 17.6 points, 9.2 assists and 1.98 steals, and DeAndre Jordan averages 12.5 points and 13.5 rebounds. ... The Clippers are 1-1 against the Mavericks this season. The Clippers beat the Mavericks in Dallas 124-104 on Nov. 23 but lost to the Mavericks in LA 90-88 on Dec. 23.

About the Mavericks: Dallas lost 112-87 to the Golden State Warriors Tuesday to open a four-game homestand, which continues Saturday against Toronto and Monday against Oklahoma City before the Mavericks start a five-game road trip on March 30. ... Harrison Barnes has slumped a bit, scoring a total of nine points in two of the past three games. Barnes scored five points on 2-of-10 shooting in the loss to the Warriors. That came after he poured in 19 points in Sunday’s win at Brooklyn, following the season-low four points he tallied in Friday’s loss at Philadelphia. ... The Mavericks have lost four of their past six games by an average of 22.8 points.

This story was originally published March 22, 2017 at 2:09 PM with the headline "Homestand vital for Mavericks’ playoff hopes."